Price gap grows in Canada between legal, illicit cannabis

The difference between the average price of regulated and illegal cannabis across Canada widened in the quarter ending September, according to new data from Statistics Canada.

The average price of legal cannabis prices dropped to 10.23 Canadian dollars per gram ($7.68) in the third quarter, a decline from CA$10.65 per gram in the second quarter.

That compares with the average price per gram of illegal cannabis, which decreased to CA$5.59 in the third quarter.

That means a gram of cannabis purchased in the illicit market was 45% cheaper on average than marijuana bought in the regulated market.

It shows Canada’s illicit market is staying competitive with the regulated market on price.

Overall, the average price of legal and illicit cannabis fell to CA$7.37 per gram in the most recent quarter, 6.7% lower than the second quarter, according to the data.

Statistics Canada said it was the first decline in price for legal cannabis since legalization last October.

The data was acquired via crowdsourcing, though only 48 submissions were made for legal channels and 77 for illegal purchases.